Medicine at the Margins

The art and science of meeting people where they are

Participants in Christine Helfrich’s life skills intervention study, including Bill, foreground, and George, gain and share useful knowledge and practical tips about how to stay housed and live healthy lives.

With the largest safety-net hospital in New England, and a long history of outreach and engagement, Boston University is truly an institution dedicated to serving the community, both in Boston and around the world. Now, as universal health care stands at the forefront of the national political discourse, researchers are using novel strategies to connect with patient populations that have been overlooked and underestimated in the past, including low-income mothers, individuals reentering society after life on the streets, black women with uncontrolled diabetes, and people with intellectual disabilities.